((PKG)) BLOOD DRIVE
((Banner: Donating Blood))
((Reporter/Camera: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: McLean and Franconia, Virginia))
((Main characters: 2 male; 4 female))
((NATS))
((Ivy Main, Donor))
I saw on the news and social media that that there was a
blood shortage everywhere and I've been a donor in the past
and know that my blood is particularly valuable. I have O
negative blood and so, I've really felt this was a time for me to
come out.
((NATS))
((Andrea Brightwell, Regulatory Affairs Manager, INOVA
Blood Donor Services))
We have quite a dedicated mobile donor base. However, we
have had to decrease on that. So, high school and college
students are, you know, they make up a large portion of our
donors in this country. We actually had to cancel every
single one of those when the coronavirus outbreak really
became a huge problem in this country. So, we've not had
many mobile drives. We've only maybe, had maybe, one
every other day since then.
((NATS))
((Vanessa Ma, Student Coordinator/Donor, INOVA Blood
Donor Services))
For the cancellation of school, it completely canceled the
blood drive in total. I do know there's a lot of community
outreach recently about trying to get people to donate blood
or if they're stuck at home without anything to do, they have
the opportunity to come out to a clean environment and do
something good for the community.
((NATS))
((Andrea Brightwell, Regulatory Affairs Manager, INOVA
Blood Donor Services))
You know, the students who typically donate with us, they
know that their drives have been canceled. So, they're
coming to the centers with their parents. Our parents are like,
‘Okay, you signed up. So, why don’t you come with me and
we can donate together?’
((NATS))
((Sam Meyers, Donor))
My mom is a doctor in the INOVA system and she said that
they're having trouble getting more donors now because of,
you know, coronavirus.
((NATS))
((Ivy Main, Donor))
I really think this is one of the things that we're learning here,
is how much of a responsibility we have to each other and
so, that makes it all the more important that people who can
give blood do. I'm really not concerned for myself. I'm far
more worried about the people who need blood.
((NATS))
((Carolyn Bayless, Blood Donor Services, Mobile
Operations Manager))
All of our employees, all of our staff that are in clinical areas,
will be wearing masks. We also wipe down all of our
clipboards. Again, we use disposable pens. We're going
through gloves and, you know, disinfectants. We're going
through all that, all those supplies, making sure that
everything is clean and safe for the donors. And
right now, we're taking only appointments to be able to one,
provide the social distancing practices that we have in place,
make everyone comfortable and safe. I think what happens
that in a crisis like this, people want to help and this is a feel-
good way of helping. You're giving a blood product that's
going to save someone's life and donating blood is one of
those things that's kind of like a civil service kind of thing that
people do to, they want to help.
((NATS))
((Nicholas Erickson, Donor))
I do have a good friend who typically signs me up. We call
her vampire Karen because she's the blood donor guru of our
group. So, it's just, we're not on the same schedule right
now. So, I did this on my own based upon the perceived
need.
((NATS))
((Carolyn Bayless, Blood Donor Services, Mobile
Operations Manager))
We’ve adjusted our schedules. We’ve extended our blood
drives. So, typically we would do a drive like this in four
hours. Now, we’re doing them in six hours, so that we can
spread out our donors. We still want to see the same amount
of donors. So, we’re trying to accommodate everyone by
having longer drives. We’ll probably leave here with about,
probably about 40, 45 units, depending on how many got
through the process for various reasons.
((NATS))
((Banner:
Since this report, the INOVA mobile blood drives have been
canceled until further notice.))
((NATS))
((Banner: Donating Blood))
((Reporter/Camera: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: McLean and Franconia, Virginia))
((Main characters: 2 male; 4 female))
((NATS))
((Ivy Main, Donor))
I saw on the news and social media that that there was a
blood shortage everywhere and I've been a donor in the past
and know that my blood is particularly valuable. I have O
negative blood and so, I've really felt this was a time for me to
come out.
((NATS))
((Andrea Brightwell, Regulatory Affairs Manager, INOVA
Blood Donor Services))
We have quite a dedicated mobile donor base. However, we
have had to decrease on that. So, high school and college
students are, you know, they make up a large portion of our
donors in this country. We actually had to cancel every
single one of those when the coronavirus outbreak really
became a huge problem in this country. So, we've not had
many mobile drives. We've only maybe, had maybe, one
every other day since then.
((NATS))
((Vanessa Ma, Student Coordinator/Donor, INOVA Blood
Donor Services))
For the cancellation of school, it completely canceled the
blood drive in total. I do know there's a lot of community
outreach recently about trying to get people to donate blood
or if they're stuck at home without anything to do, they have
the opportunity to come out to a clean environment and do
something good for the community.
((NATS))
((Andrea Brightwell, Regulatory Affairs Manager, INOVA
Blood Donor Services))
You know, the students who typically donate with us, they
know that their drives have been canceled. So, they're
coming to the centers with their parents. Our parents are like,
‘Okay, you signed up. So, why don’t you come with me and
we can donate together?’
((NATS))
((Sam Meyers, Donor))
My mom is a doctor in the INOVA system and she said that
they're having trouble getting more donors now because of,
you know, coronavirus.
((NATS))
((Ivy Main, Donor))
I really think this is one of the things that we're learning here,
is how much of a responsibility we have to each other and
so, that makes it all the more important that people who can
give blood do. I'm really not concerned for myself. I'm far
more worried about the people who need blood.
((NATS))
((Carolyn Bayless, Blood Donor Services, Mobile
Operations Manager))
All of our employees, all of our staff that are in clinical areas,
will be wearing masks. We also wipe down all of our
clipboards. Again, we use disposable pens. We're going
through gloves and, you know, disinfectants. We're going
through all that, all those supplies, making sure that
everything is clean and safe for the donors. And
right now, we're taking only appointments to be able to one,
provide the social distancing practices that we have in place,
make everyone comfortable and safe. I think what happens
that in a crisis like this, people want to help and this is a feel-
good way of helping. You're giving a blood product that's
going to save someone's life and donating blood is one of
those things that's kind of like a civil service kind of thing that
people do to, they want to help.
((NATS))
((Nicholas Erickson, Donor))
I do have a good friend who typically signs me up. We call
her vampire Karen because she's the blood donor guru of our
group. So, it's just, we're not on the same schedule right
now. So, I did this on my own based upon the perceived
need.
((NATS))
((Carolyn Bayless, Blood Donor Services, Mobile
Operations Manager))
We’ve adjusted our schedules. We’ve extended our blood
drives. So, typically we would do a drive like this in four
hours. Now, we’re doing them in six hours, so that we can
spread out our donors. We still want to see the same amount
of donors. So, we’re trying to accommodate everyone by
having longer drives. We’ll probably leave here with about,
probably about 40, 45 units, depending on how many got
through the process for various reasons.
((NATS))
((Banner:
Since this report, the INOVA mobile blood drives have been
canceled until further notice.))
((NATS))
